'Upluz' looks to US and Europe to provide advertising boost

The Nation

Refill Production, the publisher of monthly student magazine Upluz, has approached universities in the United States and Europe to advertise in the publication to boost revenue.

Upluz is published free of charge for eight months of the year, but the company is now charging for issues during the school holidays, starting this month.

Seventy-five per cent of Upluz advertising comes from businesses and institutions in Australia, Refill Production managing director Weerapat Malivong said yesterday.

He said that even though Upluz is a free magazine and faces costs of nearly Bt2 million per copy, it was able to survive because of advertising from Australia.

Weerapat gained bachelor's and master's degrees in Australia, where the availability of free student magazines inspired him to publish a similar product in Thailand.

The magazine was founded six years ago with the name SiamOz, before changing to Upluz two years ago. SiamOz is now a Upluz insert.

Refill produces 55,000 copies monthly to cater to Thai students both at home and abroad, catering to their educational and other needs in respect to university life. It includes fashion, student topics, interviews and photo shoots with famous Thai actors who are currently students themselves.

Weerapat said the trend was for its advertising income to rise, as the magazine can cater to a clear target group not greatly affected by the current economic uncertainties.

"Many universities in Australia and Thailand prefer to advertise in Upluz because our magazine contains a useful guide for Thai learners, which will benefit both students and institutions," he said.

Businesses and universities in Australia have extended their contract periods for advertising in Upluz, while from Thai sources the company's advertising income rises by 5 to 10 per cent annually.

The company's success in Australia has led Upluz to enter new overseas markets, he said, with universities in the US, the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland surprised at the availability of a free magazine in Thailand and ready to advertise their institutions in it.

Refill will export the magazine to those markets this year. Australian sales currently represent 15 per cent of each month's print run.

The company plans to increase the overall number of copies printed by 15 per cent in the second half of the year, Weerapat said.

Malys Karnasuta Choeysobhon, editor-in-chief, said Upluz had decided to launch commercially during the school holiday periods of March to May and October in order to meet demand from students and parents.

"Parents and students sent e-mails asking us why they could not read Upluz magazine during the school holidays. This is the reason for our decision to launch commercially only during school holidays," he said.

Moreover, the commercial launch will boost ad revenue, he added.